RJHS West seeks conference titleBy Mark Burke sports@couriernews.com They've waited five weeks for this opportunity, and now the time has finally come. Russellville West (8-1, 5-0) will get another shot at Lake Hamilton - the only team to defeat the West Whirlwinds this season - in tonight's contest. This time it really counts. With the Junior Wolves taking a 27-0 win in a non-conference meeting in Week 4, the West will get their chance to avenge that loss in the Central Ark...

Golden leads West past East in RJHS battleBy Mark Burke sports@couriernews.com The Russellville West Whirlwinds got another golden performance Thursday night at Cyclone Stadium. Kenneth Golden scored five touchdowns to lead the West to a 36-12 victory over Russellville East in the regular season finale for both teams. The win secures a perfect conference record for the West 'Winds (8-1, 5-0), who clinched the North Division of the Central Arkansas Junior High Conference with a win las...

RJHS teams set to collideBy Mark Burke sports@couriernews.com With the junior high football season reaching its final week, the Russellville Whirlwind teams are set for their annual East-West game tonight. Russellville West (7-1, 4-0) has already clinched the North Division of the Central Arkansas Junior High Conference and will face the winner of the South Division next Tuesday to determine the overall conference winner. But that doesn't mean the West 'Winds are goin...

Panthers take advantage of East 'Wind miscuesWest 'Winds clinch division with 30-14 win over Morrilton By Mark Burke sports@couriernews.com With both teams committing multiple turnovers Thursday night in Russellville East's matchup with Greenbrier, taking advantage of those miscues was important. After recovering a muffed punt late in the third quarter, the Junior Panthers went on to score what ended up being the winning touchdown early in the fourth quarter for an 18-14 win over the Eas...

RJHS teams set for next testsBy Mark Burke sports@couriernews.com With the junior high football season nearing its end, the Russellville Junior High teams get set for their final regular-season opponents before next week's East-West game. Russellville West (6-1, 3-0) can clinch its division with a victory tonight over Morrilton. West coach Joey Jones doesn't see tonight's road game as an easy task but knows it carries a good deal of importance. The West Whirlwinds picked ...

Dover jr. boys, girls take 2ndCourier sports staff LAMAR - Dover's junior boys and junior girls both posted second-place finishes recently at the Lamar Invitational. Greg Roberts finished seventh in a time of 14:17 to lead the junior boys, and Ashley Boyer took fourth in a time of 15:55 to lead the junior girls. Justin Sinyard and Bardley Hull finished eighth and ninth, respectively, in the junior boys race with times of 15:19 and 15:31, respectively. Josh Pennington (16:4...

Jr. Wildcats run over BigelowCourier sports staff HECTOR - The Junior Wildcats amassed 319 yards of total offense Tuesday night and held off Bigelow for a 14-6 win. Tyler Robertson led Hector with both touchdowns. His first came at the 3:56 mark in the second quarter on a 6-yard run. After a failed 2-point conversion attempt, the Junior Wildcats led 6-0 and took that lead into halftime. Robertson broke free for a 90-yard touchdown run at the 5:30 mark in the third quarter...

RJHS teams to face tough tasks tonightBy Mark Burke sports@couriernews.com Both Russellville Junior High School football teams will have tough challenges tonight as they continue Central Arkansas Junior High Conference play. One team is looking to rebound from a loss, while the other is hoping to stay on its winning streak. Russellville East (3-3, 1-2) suffered a 35-0 loss at Searcy last week. Turnovers played a large factor in that, but the East 'Winds are hoping a return home wi...

Russellville Junior High East, West volleyball teams sweep Vilonia, Greenbrier MondayEast, West "B" teams face off Courier sports staff The Russellville Junior High East and West volleyball teams were in action at home Monday, with both ninth-grade teams recording sweeps of Vilonia and Greenbrier. The Russellville-East ninth-grade team defeated Vilonia 25-23, 25-23. Courtney Coulter had eight points in the first game, while Brittany Stancil added five. In game two, Stephanie Williams finished with seven points for Russellville...

RJHS West uses late TD pass for 22-14 victoryBy Mark Burke sports@couriernews.com Russellville West football coach Joey Jones would rather not have to see his team involved in a close game, but he'll take Thursday night's end result. With the game tied 14-14, eighth-grader Barrett Hughes threw a perfect strike to A.J. Broadnax, who fended off a couple of defenders, for what resulted in a 66-yard touchdown play late in the fourth quarter as the West Whirlwinds (5-1, 2-0) defeated the Gree...

RJHS football teams looking to build on last week's conference victoriesBy Mark Burke sports@couriernews.com Russellville's Junior High football teams both recorded close wins last week in their Central Arkansas Junior High Conference openers and are looking for more success in conference play. Russellville East (3-2, 1-0) withstood a strong Morrilton running attack led by Jermaine Evans, who ran for 215 yards, and defeated the Devil Pups 30-24 last Thursday. Russellville West (4-1, 1-0) picked up a 20-14 win at V...

Russellville Junior High volleyball teams fall to Morrilton, ViloniaCourier sports staff The Russellville Junior High East Lady Whirlwind volleyball team suffered a 25-17, 20-25, 20-25 loss to Morrilton in Wednesday night's ninth-grade action at Whirlwind Gymnasium. The eighth-grade team, however, picked up a 25-10, 25-19 sweep of the Lady Devil Pups. Allison Sotomayor led the East in the ninth-grade match with nine points, three kills and a block. Stephanie Williams finished with seven points, an ace and a ki...

RJHS West volleyball teams fall at MorriltonCourier sports staff The Russellville Junior High-West volleyball teams traveled Monday to Morrilton and were swept by the home team in eighth- and ninth-grade matches. Morrilton won the eighth-grade match 25-18, 25-19. In the second game, Shelby Sutterfield had four service points for Russellville-West, and Andrea Dickson added three. The ninth-grade match also went to Morrilton, 25-20, 25-21. Mindy Cooper had four points for Russellville-Wes...

East Whirlwinds hold off Morrilton in back-and-forth conference openerBy Mark Burke sports@couriernews.com The Russellville East Whirlwinds couldn't stop Morrilton's Jermaine Evans in Thursday night's junior high football game at Cyclone Stadium. As it turned out, it didn't matter. The East Whirlwinds (3-2, 1-0) got three touchdowns from Jason Walker and withstood Evans' 20 carry, 216 yard performance for a 30-24 win over the Devil Pups in the Central Arkansas Junior High Conference opener. "It's great for these...

Whirlwind football teams seek wins as conference play beginsBy Mark Burke sports@couriernews.com The Russellville Junior High football teams both were handed defeats last week, but the Whirlwind teams hope to change that as the "real season" begins tonight. The RJHS teams enter Central Arkansas Junior High Conference play tonight, as Russellville East (2-2) will host Morrilton at Cyclone Stadium, and Russellville West (3-1) will play at Vilonia. Both Whirlwind coaches know wins and losses matter more n...

RJHS West shut down, out by Lake HamiltonBy Mark Burke sports@couriernews.com Russellville West football coach Joey Jones knew Thursday night's game with Lake Hamilton would be tough, but the Whirlwinds were able to hang close for the first half. That, however, changed in the second half as the Wolves rolled off 20 points in the final two quarters for a 27-0 win over the West at Cyclone Stadium. Lake Hamilton was led by David Church, who had 13 carries for 181 yards and two touchdown...

RJHS volleyball teams breeze past SheridanCourier sports staff SHERIDAN - The Russellville Junior High ninth-grade teams picked up victories Tuesday night over Sheridan. Both Lady Whirlwind squads recorded sweeps over the Lady Stingers, as Russellville East picked up a 25-22, 25-15 win and Russellville West took a 25-21, 25-19 victory. In the East Lady 'Winds' match, Stephanie Williams led the way in the first game with five points, including two aces. Allison Sotomayer recorded four ...

Whirlwind teams have tough tasks at handBy Mark Burke sports@couriernews.com Both Russellville Junior High football teams are coming off wins last week, but the coaches from both teams realize this week's competition is going to be much more of a challenge. Russellville West put up 54 points against Benton last week. The West 'Winds were led by Kenneth Golden's five-touchdown performance and improved to 3-0 on the season. However, West coach Joey Jones knows tonight's contest with L...

East 'Winds shut down ConwayBy Mark Burke sports@couriernews.com Matt Warrick continued to have success at home with the Russellville Junior High East Whirlwinds in his first season as head coach. The East 'Winds kept a strong Conway White team at bay for the most part and picked up a 10-6 win Thursday night over the Wampus Kittens at Cyclone Stadium. Mistakes cost Russellville East (2-1) last week in its loss at Atkins. Warrick, though, was pleased with the effort again...